Chapter 318 A commission from a traveling trader


    ?After teasing An a little, Duanmu Huai returned to the command room. After all, he also wanted to see how the situation was during his absence.


    “Mia, report the current situation.”


    “Okay, Master.”


    ?Hearing Duanmuhuai''s question, the artificial angel sitting in front of the console raised his hand with a smile.


    "Let Mia take a look... Well, Miss Kukulu reported that the current team''s transformation progress is only 23%... She said that they have not fully mastered the technology of how to be a forerunner..."


    "It''s normal. Let them take their time. Everything should be done stably. There is no need to rush at the moment."


    "Okay, next is... a report from the war planet. Miss Rebecca said that the first batch of renewable energy systems has been transported to the war planet and installed in place. She suggested that the next step will mainly be to restore hydropower... "


    “Just do it.”


    Duanmuhuai nodded.


    "Well...then...ah, Mr. Dardanelle left a message. It seems that he has something to ask the Tribunal for help~~"


    "oh?"


    Hearing this, Duanmu Huai raised his eyebrows.


    “What did he say or not?”


    "No."


    “Contact him and see what he plans to do with the Inquisition.”


    “Understood, Master~~~”


    Not long after, Dardaniel’s cunning face with a big beard appeared in front of Duanmuhuai.


    “Ah, hello, great inquisitor, I am really flattered to get your response so quickly...”


    “Don’t talk too much nonsense.”


    ?Duanmuhuai waved his hand, interrupting Dardaniel''s greeting.


    "What do you want from the Inquisition? If it''s something boring, then you have to be careful with your head."


    "Of course, I won''t hide anything from the Lord Judge. In fact... I have a small commission this time, and I hope the Lord Judge can help me solve it."


    "oh?"


    Hearing this, Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes.


    “What commission?”


    “It’s like this…”


    ?Dardaniel twisted his fingers.


    “You don’t know something. In fact, I have been in contact with a fifth-level human civilization, and I also have a certain power and status among them..."


    "Um."


    Duanmuhuai didn''t say much. This is actually not surprising. Rogue traders sometimes rely on some backward civilizations to gain power, wealth and status. In the era of the human empire, they were essentially like captains issued privateering licenses. They took their ships everywhere to take risks, rob, and even go deep into undeveloped areas to turn them into colonies. In the interstellar age, what these Rogue Traders did... was actually not much different.


    ?Just like in many online novels, the protagonist has a portal that travels between modern and ancient times, and then he makes a fortune by reselling materials in the middle to gain power, status and wealth - well, this is the development method of the Rogue Trader.


    "That civilization is still trapped on its home planet. Their population has reached its limit and is overwhelmed. I built a new transportation system for them to reduce pollution, but unfortunately it is only a drop in the bucket. Fortunately, on Not long ago, this civilization has gone to the stars..."


    “Don’t talk nonsense, talk about the important points.”


    “Okay, that’s it, your Lord Judge...”


    ?Dardaniel rubbed his hands.


    "The transportation system I set up requires a kind of superconducting ore as a material. And we found the raw materials we needed on a planet 4.2 light years away from the civilization''s home star. Moreover, the planet itself contains Once a large amount of superconducting ore is completely mined, it will be enough to completely change the current situation of that civilization, and even go one step further..."


    “Speak to the key points.”


    "Yes... during the process of mining on that planet, we encountered attacks from the indigenous people. They are an alien race called the Na''vi. Originally, we hoped to negotiate with them to gain peace of mind for mining ore. But it is a pity that those alien races are too barbaric and backward to understand our thoughts. They have been launching attacks on my mining base. Although I have also sent some soldiers there, it is shameful to say that with that civilization. The ability is not enough to deal with the Na''vi, so... I hope the Tribunal can come forward to help me solve this problem. "


    Having said this, Dardaniel also smiled at Duanmu Huai in a hurry to please.


    "Ah, of course, I will not let the Tribunal help in vain. In return, I can give you one-third of the profits. If you need anything, you can just ask..."


    "I see."


    Duanmu Huai nodded and thought for a moment.


    “Give me the information and locations of these two planets, and I will give you a reply after reading them.”


    “Okay, Mr. Judge, I’m really sorry to bother you...”


    ? Dardaniel was also very sensible. After saying a few words, he hurriedly cut off the contact. Not long after, Mia received the file information from the other party.


    “Mia, send a warship to the coordinates of the planet to observe, and then report the situation to me.”


    “Okay, Master.”


    ?After issuing the order, Duanmu Huai stared at the data and intelligence in front of him.


    ?This is an opportunity, and it is time to let the girls around me know the true meaning of the existence of the Tribunal.


    ?Of course, the premise is...that the rogue trader didn''t lie to himself.


    Dardaniel moved very quickly, and Mia''s reaction was not slow. It didn''t take long for Duanmuhuai to receive a report from the frontline reconnaissance fleet. After receiving the report, he glanced at it, and then Duanmuhuai stood up. .


    “Mia, notify everyone to come to the tactical command room for a meeting.”


    “Yes~~~”


    Soon, everyone arrived at the tactical command room, while Duanmuhuai sat on a chair, watching them.


    "Everyone, next, I have something very important to tell you. The situation is like this. Just now, Dardaniel requested assistance from the Inquisition..."


    He first explained to the girls the current situation on the human civilization planet, and also showed the footage taken by the reconnaissance fleet. It can be clearly seen on the screen that the entire surface of the planet is gray everywhere, and there are almost no traces of green. Under the tall buildings, countless people are coming and going like ants. They all have gray faces and are wearing masks. .


    “So pitiful...”


    When they heard Duanmuhuai say that because the planet was overpopulated, the air quality had declined and it was difficult for people to breathe fresh air, the girls were also amazed. This is the first time that they have seen deeply and intuitively the other side of the development of civilization - the dark side full of ills.


    Although the girls have been to planets with developed civilizations in the past, those planets were either destroyed by demons or attacked by beasts. There were ruins everywhere, and it was impossible to treat them as normal samples.


    “Ugh… I have seen descriptions of environmental pollution in books, but I didn’t expect the problem to be so serious…”


    Seeing this, An also frowned, feeling worried.


    "However, Dardaniel and the others have also found a solution. As long as they use the ore dug from this planet called Pandora, they can greatly change the current situation of human beings on that planet, and by further changing the planet''s environment, Maybe they can colonize that planet in the future, but there is a small problem now. "


    "question?"


    Facing the girl''s doubtful inquiry, Duanmuhuai pressed the button gently. Then, the girls saw a group of tall humanoid creatures with tails and blue skin in the jungle of the green Pandora planet. , running in it. They harnessed grotesque beasts for hunting and living.


    "They are a native species on this planet, known as the Na''vi. Since the ore area excavated by Dardaniel is a place they regard as a sacred place, they are unwilling to let humans dig it, and have done so several times in a row Attack the mine. So, Dardaniel found us, hoping we could help him solve this problem."


    “Solve this problem?”


    ?An muttered to herself and repeated it, and then her expression changed drastically.


    “Wait, Mr. Knight, you mean...”


    "Yes, Dardaniel hopes that the Inquisition will completely eliminate the Na''vi to ensure their interests in mining and colonizing this planet."


    “How can this work!”


    Hearing this, Lorena couldn''t help but stand up.


    “Isn’t this aggression?”


    “Yes, it is indeed an invasion.”


    Duanmuhuai nodded.


    "So, what do you think?" "Of course this won''t work...!"


    “Yes, how can you do such a thing?”


    Soon, the girls all gave their own answers. Of course, they were not willing to do such a thing. Then, An looked at Duanmuhuai again.


    “Mr. Knight, you came to us to say that...the Inquisition is going to do this.”


    "Yes, we do have to do this, because it does not conflict with the duties of the Inquisition."


    "Why?!"


    Hearing this, everyone was shocked. In their memories, the Tribunal has always been a just organization that saves mankind, but...


    “Indeed, I understand what you are thinking.”


    Duanmuhuai pointed at the Na''vi people on the screen who were having fun in the jungle.


    “They have been living on this planet for generations and have not offended anyone, but suddenly someone wants to drive them out of their home. This must be pitiful and unfair, right?”


    "Um………"


    “Well said.”


    Looking around at the expressions of the girls around him, Duanmuhuai nodded. Then he suddenly turned over the other screen.


    “Then what do you think these humans should do?”


    …………”


    Looking at the human beings living in pain in the jungle of steel and iron, the girls... were speechless for a moment.


    “But…but…”


    After a long silence, Lorena spoke softly.


    “Isn’t there a better way to get the best of both worlds?”


    “No, in fact, all life in this world thrives by cannibalizing other life.”


    Duanmu Huai shook his head.


    "You think this kind of behavior is evil and excessive. But unfortunately, this is not a patent of humans. Take the wolf pack as an example. When a wolf pack expands to a certain extent, they will divide into two wolf packs. Fight for territory. The winning wolves will stay here, while the losing wolves will go elsewhere and look for prey elsewhere - and for animals living peacefully in other places, these driven or migrating wolves are not Is it also an innocent disaster?”


    "Well………"


    “Ann, Lorena.”


    Duanmu Huai nodded at the two of them.


    “You hope that your country will be prosperous and powerful.”


    "Yes……"


    "Well, you also know what this means. This means that a large number of people will be born in your cities and countries. They need land to live, work, grow food, hunt or domesticate animals to sustain their lives. So where did these lands come from? Could it be that they were created out of thin air? For the animals that originally lived on that land, what is the difference between the humans who reclaimed the land and the invaders?"


    …………”


    ?At this time, both of them were silent.


    “This is the truth of the universe.”


    Duanmuhuai spread his hands.


    "For any living thing, survival is the first need, and civilization will inevitably continue to expand unless it is destroyed. However, the total amount of matter in the universe remains unchanged. It is like cake. When you take too much If you have one piece, someone will take less. It is the stupidest behavior to feel guilty about this, because the battle between lives is originally a life-or-death battle. You have also personally experienced the war between humans and beasts, and humans and demons. , should understand this very well.”


    “Yes, but……”


    At this time, Gulea raised her hand timidly.


    “At that time, beasts and demons were invading humans, the evil side…”


    “Evil? What criteria are used to judge whether they are evil?”


    Duanmuhuai snorted softly.


    "The reason why the orcs invaded humans was because they were infected by the fluorescent tribe underground and had nowhere to go. The reason why the Mek tribe teamed up with the demons to attack the Yajins and humans was also to gain soul power and maintain their own lives—— You see, the starting point of all races is to protect themselves, isn’t it?”


    ………Yes, but…”


    "Of course, from a human perspective, their actions are evil because they cause harm to humans. That''s it, and the Inquisition..."


    Having said this, Duanmu Huai stood up.


    "The existence of the Tribunal is to protect mankind, protect human civilization, and eliminate all threats to mankind! Therefore, no matter what difficulties the Mek tribe or the Orc tribe has, in the face of the life and death of the race, it does not matter. Because , when two races start a war for the right to survive, there is only one outcome - either you die or I die! There is no third way! The reproduction, survival and expansion of any race are based on the remains of other lives. With the corpse!"


    …………”


    There was dead silence in the command room.


    An''s face turned pale and he was speechless. Lorena clasped her hands in front of her chest and prayed silently. Lani looked thoughtful and remained silent. Feilin, on the other hand, was scrolling through the tablet in boredom, seemingly not interested at all. Gu Leiya, on the other hand, sat there with a serious face and said nothing.


    Bambi frowned, looking at this and that, not knowing what to say for a while. Ogis''s expression didn''t change at all, she just sat quietly aside. As for Xueli, her face was complicated and tangled. She opened her mouth and then closed it again, as if she didn''t know what to say.


    “I will not take you with me on this operation.”


    Duanmu Huai sat down again and looked at everyone.


    "In fact, I could have told you nothing, but I think it is necessary to let you know the true meaning of the Tribunal. Indeed, perhaps in the eyes of humans, we are heroes, saving them from water and fire, and saving them from water and fire. Heroes who escaped from the threat of death. However, in the eyes of other races, what we do is no different from that of demons - the difference is that the Tribunal is always the guardian of mankind, and we will always stand on the side of mankind. That’s it.”


    ?Speaking of this, Duanmuhuai looked at everyone.


    "If you feel that this is different from what you want, then you can withdraw from the Tribunal and return to your original life. However, I think it is better to inform you in advance. I don''t want you to be concerned about the existence of the Tribunal. What misunderstandings arise—including some beautiful ones.”


    Of course Duanmuhuai noticed that the girls were in a very confused mood at the moment, which was normal. They had always thought that they were doing "the right thing", but now, they found that they might be doing something "not so right". ", at least, that''s what they think.


    ?Of course, in Duanmuhuai’s view, this is all hypocrisy. Just like those Western idiots in his original world who couldn''t help shouting cruelty when they saw the video of killing chickens and pigs - these idiots really thought that chicken and pork grew in the ground. They are so stupid that they dare not accept that humans maintain their own existence by killing other living things, and think this is an "evil" behavior. They are really idiots.


    Since you feel so miserable, you might as well commit suicide, which can be regarded as improving the per capita value.


    It doesn’t matter whether it’s IQ or anything else.


    ?Duanmu Huai has seen a lot of corruption and betrayal, all due to this kind of "beautiful misunderstanding", but in fact many misunderstandings are not inevitable.


    Just like there was a rumor in Japan that "idols don''t poop"!


    Co-author Those girl idols are not human, right?


    In the final analysis, these are the results of "beautification" in other people''s minds, so once the filter is broken, it will lead to more resistance.


    ? Duanmu Huai does not want this "beautiful filter" and is not willing to hide these things from the girls. After all, he also knows that once this kind of thing is exposed in the future, the problem may be even greater.


    That’s why he explained it in advance and made it clear to the girls.


    …………”


    Finally, Lorena stood up.


    "I''m sorry, Lord Knight, I, I''m very confused. I want to go back to the Holy City and have some peace and quiet."


    After saying this, Lorena turned around and left without looking back. At the same time, An also stood up.


    "Me too, I''m sorry, Mr. Knight, that... I understand your reasoning, but... I still want to calm down a little more."


    After saying that, An also left the command room, and then the other girls also stood up. After a while, only Ogis and Bambi remained here.


    “Ugh, Bambi thinks everyone is taking it too seriously. There is obviously no need to go to such trouble.”


    Bambi looked confused, while Duanmuhuai shrugged his shoulders.


    “Haha, humans and vampires are different. If they had the same needs for resources as vampires, maybe they wouldn’t be so troublesome.”


    “Human beings are really a complicated and troublesome race.”


    “Isn’t that true?”


    ?Duanmu Huai stood up and sighed longly.


    “Anyway, we have to start taking action.”


    (End of this chapter)